991 | The Road of Sobriety and Creating Purpose with Jonathan Schwartz

·49 min·4 clips

Jonathan Schwartz shares how he played the victim at his sentencing, months before hitting rock bottom in prison.

Marsha Vanwynsberghe introduces Jonathan Schwartz, detailing his past as a business manager for clients like Beyonce and Alanis Morissette before addiction led to federal prison. Jonathan explains his current role as an AMFT and program director at Altus Rehab in Encino, California, where he helps individuals in early recovery. He recounts his sober date of May 9, 2016, and how ego persisted even at sentencing, with true surrender coming months later in prison. Jonathan describes building a recovery plan to avoid complacency, including daily gratitude, sponsorship, and therapy. He discusses the importance of emotional presence, contrasting it with his past physical presence as a father. The conversation covers the onset of his gambling addiction in 2009-2010, which escalated to embezzlement from clients. Jonathan presents addiction as a hybrid of disease, influenced by multigenerational transmission and ACEs, and personal choice. He addresses family dynamics in recovery, advocating for boundaries and I-statements using the Gottman technique. Marsha asks about treatment programs, and Jonathan criticizes the private sector's 30-day average, advocating for longer care. He shares his future goals of a book, movie, and global tour to spread his message. Jonathan recommends inner child work, such as talking to a pillow representing his younger self, to foster self-compassion. The episode concludes with his plug for Instagram and Altus Rehab, emphasizing the lesson of personal accountability.

As heard by us

A clear, candid account of gambling, broken trust, and the accountability still required after serious harm.

Jonathan Schwartz traces the gambling behavior he dates to 2009 or 2010 from a first sports bet into six years of daily wagering, then into embezzlement from a handful of clients and the loss of his career as an entertainment business manager.

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Why you'd press play

You can trace one sports bet to six years of daily gambling and a reckoning with trust.

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